This week marks the beginning of Advent
2012! Our morning worship services will commemorate the season with Advent
candles, readings, banners, and special messages. This year’s theme is “Advent of the Messiah,
Our Prophet, Priest, and King”. Let’s
prepare our hearts together for this special season.

Be praying with the Nominating Committee as they work to prepare a slate of candidates to be
considered for office at the Annual Meeting in February 2013. To submit names for consideration or to make
any other comments pertaining to the nominating process, see Olive, Fred or
Derek in the coming weeks. Pray with us
during this important time in our church.

Seneca Gospel Mission needs new winter hats and gloves and gifts for 40+
boys and girls, ages Pre-K to Grade 11.
We are collecting items by the church office Christmas tree through
December 9. Thank you for your
thoughtful giving to inner-city families in Buffalo.

CALENDAR

Wednesday, December 5th

Choir practice at the church
at 6:00 pm.

Join us at the church for prayer
and Bible study at 7:00 pm. We’re in
Chapter 12 of our ongoing study in Hebrews (“The Supremacy of Christ”). Also, don’t forget your T. David Gordon
homework!

Thursday, December 6th

Dewey ladies, let’s meet at
the church at 10:00 am to set up for Saturday’s luncheon.

Friday, December 7th

Sunday School Christmas
program Practice at church from 6:30-7:30 pm.

Saturday, December 8th

The annual Ladies Christmas
Luncheon is planned for 12:00 noon. Come
and bring a friend or family member.
Sign up for a salad, main dish, or dessert, and bring a nonperishable
food item to send back with our speaker from
City Mission, Sue Cervi.

Sunday, December 9th

3DYouth is planning to help
wait tables at the annual Operation Good Neighbor Volunteer Dinner. Meet at First Church of Evans at 1:00
pm. Serve at 1:30 pm. Enjoy pizza with your fellow waiters at 3:30
pm.

Sunday, December 16th

Christmas Tea at the
Parsonage from 2:00 to 5:00 pm.

Sunday, December 23rd

Sunday School Christmas
Program, “Jesus, the Greatest Prophet” .

Monday, December 24th - Christmas Eve
Service

Sunday, December 30th - End-of-Year
Slideshow. Garry needs pictures, if
anyone has more to share as we remember the blessings and memories from the
past year.

*Hymn
of Faith #136 …………………………………………………… Thy Word
Have I Hid in My Heart

Prayer
Requests & Testimonials

Pastoral
Prayer

Tithes & Offerings

Offertory

*Doxology

*Benediction

Postlude
*Congregation invited to stand

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Be praying with the
Nominating Committee as they work to prepare a slate of candidates to be
considered for office at the Annual Meeting in February 2013. To submit names for consideration or to make
any other comments pertaining to the nominating process, see Olive, Fred or
Derek in the coming weeks. Pray with us
during this important time in our church.

Seneca Gospel Mission
needs non-perishable food, home goods, new winter hats and gloves, and gifts
for 40+ boys and girls, ages Pre-K to Grade 11.
We are collecting items by the church office Christmas tree through
December 9. Thank you for your
thoughtful giving to inner-city families in Buffalo.

Check out “Ask the
Pastor” on Wednesday, November 21st at 2:00 pm. (TCT Network and Dish Network channel 26,
DirecTV does not carry the program), as Derek tries to make good use of this
special opportunity. “Ask the Pastor” is
a live call-in program with a panel of five area pastors answering viewer
questions about life and the Bible from the Bible.

Join us TONIGHT
at 6:00 pm up on the hill for a joint Thanksgiving service
with our friends at the Wesleyan Church.
The service will include singing, scripture, and testimonies. You may want to bring a favorite dessert or
non-sweet snack to share for the time of fellowship to follow. Plan now to be part of this special service.

The church’s financial statement for
October 2012 is posted for review

in the office over the copy machine.

CALENDAR

Wednesday, November
21st

Choir practice at the church at 6:00 pm.

Bible Study and Prayer Meeting is suspended this week due to
the Thanksgiving holiday. But join us
the following week (November 28th) for our ongoing study in Hebrews
(“The Supremacy of Christ”). Also, don’t
forget your T. David Gordon homework!

Sunday, November 25th

3DYouth Group meets at the First Church of Evans to help out
with their traditional Hanging of the Greens at 6:00 pm followed by life
lessons from Timothy and refreshments.

Saturday, December
8th

The annual Ladies Christmas Luncheon is planned at 12:00
noon. City Mission speaker Sue Cervi is
planning to be with us.

I would just like to encourage everyone
to keep up the good work on your Bible Memory program. It is indeed mental work, but what great
benefits I am noting in my own life, as well as the lives of others around me!

Remember that this is not a race, but a
way to nurture each other in the Word of God and in Christian living as we
become more aware of how God wants us to be.
So, if you have fallen back, or can’t keep up with some of our younger
memorizers, please don’t give up! If I
can do it, you can too!

Start again! Start today!
We want to be able to say,

“Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I
might not sin against thee.”

- Kathy
Dole

Colossians 3:12-17 English Standard Version (ESV)

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Josiah was a child of prophecy. But his reforms pointed to a more perfect
son, the royal Christ, who would stand in the breach between God and his
people.

*Hymn
of Faith #59 ………………………………………….…………………… Forever
Settled in the Heavens

Prayer
Requests & Testimonials

Pastoral
Prayer

Tithes & Offerings

Offertory

*Doxology

*Benediction

Postlude
*Congregation invited to stand

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Join us downstairs
following the service for our Harvest Fellowship Meal.

Be praying with the Nominating Committee as it gears up to prepare
a slate of candidates to be considered for office at the Annual Meeting in
February 2013. To submit names for
consideration or to make any other comments pertaining to the nominating
process, see Olive, Fred or Derek in the coming weeks. Pray with us during this important time in
our church.

CALENDAR

TONIGHT! Sunday, November 11th

3DYouth Group meets here at 6:00 pm. Life lessons from Timothy followed by Turkey
Bowling and refreshments.

Tuesday, November
13th

Elders’ Meeting at 6:00 pm.

Church Board meeting at 7:00 pm.

Wednesday, November
14th

Choir practice at the church at 6:00 pm.

Join us at the church for Bible study and prayer at 7:00 pm. We are in Chapter 12 of our ongoing study in
Hebrews (“The Supremacy of Christ”).

Thursday, November
15th

Dewey Missionary will be meeting this week at 10:00 am to
read missionary letters, and pray for their needs. We are also beginning to plan for the Ladies’
Christmas Luncheon on December 8th at noon. More details to come, but save the date! City Mission speaker Sue Cervi is planning to
be with us.

Sunday, November
18th

Join us next week, up on the hill, for a joint Thanksgiving
service with our friends at the Wesleyan Church. The
evening will begin at 6:00 pm and will include singing, scripture, and
testimonies. Consider bringing a
favorite dessert or non-sweet snack to share for the time of fellowship to
follow. Plan now to be part of this
special service.

Get the most out of the service by asking
about our special listening devices.

Pick up one in the back or see an usher
for help. If yours isn’t working
properly, don’t be bashful about raising your hand to ask for assistance.

*Closing
Hymn …………………………………………………….…………………… Blessed
Be the Tie That Binds

*Benediction

Postlude
*Congregation invited to stand

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Join us downstairs
following next week’s service for a fellowship meal with a harvest theme. See the sign-up in the foyer.

A joint Thanksgiving
service being planned with our friends at the Wesleyan Church on the evening of
Sunday, November 18th. It
will include singing, scripture, testimonies, and an extended time of
fellowship. Plan now to be part of this
special service up on the hill at 6:00 pm.

Thank you so much for your generous giving! Alice, Laura and Kathy visited Seneca Gospel Mission and Buffalo City Mission last month
with our church’s donations of personal care items and three quilts. John
Brown, director of Seneca Gospel Mission, gave a tour of the facility, and
shared his heart for inner-city family outreach. He supervises after school activities,
tutoring, and youth activities, which include Bible lessons. John is also spearheading repairs to the building,
including roofing and foundation work, after which some interior remodeling
needs to be done. Pray for John and his
work and vision for the mission. Pray
for sufficient funds for vans, and future needs.

CALENDAR

Wednesday, November
7th

Choir practice at the church at 6:00 pm.

Join us at the church for Bible study and prayer at 7:00 pm. We are in Chapter 12 of our ongoing study in
Hebrews (“The Supremacy of Christ”).

Sunday, November
11th

3DYouth Group meets here at 6:00 pm. Life lessons from Timothy followed by Turkey
Bowling (seriously!) and refreshments.

Tuesday, November
13th

Church Board meeting at 7:00 pm.

Get the most out of the service by asking
about our special listening devices.

Pick up one in the back or see an usher
for help. If yours isn’t working
properly, don’t be bashful about raising your hand to ask for assistance.

Our Pastor

Derek Yoder

Welcome to FCC

At FCC, we're celebrating almost two hundred years of Congregational life and faith. A lot has happened since our church was founded in 1817, but some things never change. We remain committed to our vision to glorify God through Christ-centered worship, vigorous Bible teaching, the care and edification of God's people, outreach to our neighbors, and the proclamation of the gospel to other cultures around the world.
Our church covenant concludes with these words, "We agree to seek with the help of the Holy Spirit the unity, purity and glory of the church in doctrine and life, to the praise of our covenant-keeping God." We think that's a vision worth celebrating.
While you're with us, we hope you feel at home. To get to know us better, feel free to take this little brochure home. We hope to see you soon.

Contributors

Statement of Faith

The Bible:
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the actual word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is therefore infallible, authoritative, and fully trustworthy in all its parts and for all of life.
God:
We believe in one God, a spirit, who is the creator of and sovereign over heaven and earth, eternally existent in three persons who are equal in substance and glory; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ:
We believe in Jesus Christ our Lord who is God the Son, and in His pre-existence, virgin birth, incarnation, sinless life, substitutionary atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection from death and ascension into heaven, His triumphal intercession at the right hand of the Father, and His future visible return in power and glory.
The Holy Spirit:
We believe in God the Holy Spirit who has come to reprove the world of sin, to regenerate sinful man by applying the benefits of Christ’s redemption, and to indwell the believer, enlightening him and enabling him to be increasingly conformed to the image of Christ, to know and obey the will of God, and to experience all the fruits of righteousness and holiness.
Man:
We believe that man was created as the image of God, but because of Adam’s disobedience he has a sinful nature for which he is personally responsible before a holy God, but that he may be personally reconciled to God through regeneration, repentance from sin, and faith in Christ.
The Resurrection:
We believe in the final resurrection of both the just and the unjust, the lost to eternal punishment in hell, the saved to eternal life in heaven.
Satan:
We believe that God’s defeated enemy, Satan, though a creature, nevertheless continues to be a superhumanly powerful adversary to all righteousness, over whom however, the believer may experience in Christ the victory thoroughly secured by his death and resurrection.
The Church:
We believe that the Church is the spiritual body of Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and composed of all true believers.

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Ask The Pastor

Derek Yoder appears as a monthly guest on “Ask the Pastor”—a live, televised call-in program featuring a panel of five area pastors who answer questions about life and the Bible from the Bible. “Ask the Pastor” appears on local TCT Network and Dish Network Channel 26. DirecTV does not carry the program. Samples of the program can be found by following the link. Check out our FCC bulletin for upcoming appearances by Pastor Yoder on “Ask the Pastor.”